Draft Letter re Animal Welfare Codes

Dear ??, I am writing to you in regard to the Government planning to repeal animal welfare codes, starting with a move to put the code on chicken farming into the hands of the poultry industry. I find this deeply worrying for two reasons –

Firstly, it is gravely concerning when a government chooses to take a step backwards, rather than forwards. Animal welfare, however, has never been a priority of this present government, with some of its MPs not only wishing to see the return of the barbaric so called sport of hunting with hounds, banned by the previous Labour government, but also in complete support of the inhumane badger culling, wasting millions of tax payers’ money to murder wildlife, without consideration to more civilised solutions. Having also given the go ahead to Yorkshire Evergreen [which is part of US animal supplier Marshall BioResources] to breed beagle puppies and other animals for drug testing at a site in Grimston, near Hull, ignoring the huge protests from MPs, celebrities and animal welfare charities and yet still to enforce a ban on animals in circuses, their track record in regards to the well-being and protection of other living beings speaks for itself.

Secondly I am extremely troubled that poultry and other food industries will be allowed to implement their own animal welfare codes. Greed and profit already plays a huge part in animal exploitation around the world, factory farming – with many farm animals living their short lives in horrendous conditions, live export already deeply concerning to national animal welfare charities because of journey lengths, the basic needs of the animals not being adhered to and stress to the animals through rough handling.

Male baby chickens minced alive already seems to be a perfectly acceptable code of conduct within the poultry industry, so I dread to think what doors this would open up for the unscrupulous, whose only consideration is to keep costs down in order to make as much profit as possible.

This country is renowned for being a nation of animal lovers, but if this is allowed to go ahead my fear is not only for the animals, but for human consumers too.

These concerns must be addressed in parliament before the Government are able to repeal animal welfare codes. I thank you for your help with this matter and look forward to your response.